Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

Lewis Hine

Indianapolis Market. August 1908. Wit., E. N. Clopper. People shopped at open-air markets like this for fresh produce before the advent of the supermarket, which was basically a self-service farmers market, butcher shop and dry goods store all under one roof. View full size.

Group in front of Indian Orchard Mfg. Co. Everyone in photo was working there. Boy not photographed: Hector Dubois, 24 Water St., doffer who crushed finger in pump. Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. September 1911. View full size.

A. D. T. Messengers, August 1908. Location: Indianapolis, Indiana. (ADT, or American District Telegraph, was the forerunner of today's home security company.) Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

Stephen Warren, 284 Main St., Indian Orchard. Has doffed all summer in Indian Orchard Mfg. Co. Quit a few days ago but expects to get another job soon. Says he will not go to school. Location: Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. September 1911. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. In a textile mill, the doffer removes the bobbins from a carding machine once they are full, having been wound with wool yarn or cotton thread. View full size.

Clarence Noel, 138 Main St., Indian Orchard. Doffer in Hodges Fibre Carpet Co. of Indian Orchard Mfg. Co. Said "made seven dollars last week." Location: Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. September 1911. Clarence is in a number of the other Indian Orchard photos on this site. View full size.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.